Three poets cerebrate release of new books

Island writer Chris Bailey launched his new book of poetry in the Carriage House at Beaconsfield Historic House on Sept. 17. Miwa Takahashi photo 

By Miwa Takahashi

Sept. 18, 2018

Island writers Steve McOrmond and Chris Bailey launched their new books of poetry on Sept. 17 in the Carriage House at Beaconsfield Historic House on Charlottetown’s waterfront.

The evening was sponsored by UPEI’s dean of arts and English department with support from Canada Council for the Arts.  

Poet Annick MacAskill from Halifax gave a short reading from her book No Meeting Without Body.

“I feel compelled to write when something inspires me, and writing is also a way for me to process my thought and feeling because sometimes I am not quite sure if what I feel about an issue is when I start writing about it.”

She said she was pleased to get a reading to celebrate the launch of the book.

“I am delighted to read with both Steve and Chris. It is nice to meet Steve for the first time.”

McOrmond graduated from UPEI in 1995. He has lived in Toronto for two decades, returning yearly to the Island.

His experiences and computer software business career permeate his new book, RecKon.

“This book took almost a decade because of my day job. I only could get weekend and Fridays to work at it. But I can now write and I just use how I understand the world. If I wasn’t writing, I would be lost.

“But I did have certain themes, like technology, because I am a digital immigrant, so I grew up without technology, without the internet. So I am still assimilating 20 years later,” McOrmond said.

Bailey is a recent UPEI psychology graduate. He has been living in Toronto and Hamilton, earning a master’s degree in creative writing. 

He comes home during the summers, working on the family boat.

Many poems in his new book, named What Your Hands Have Done, focus on the lives, work, and relationships of fishing families.

“Thank you for Deidre Kessler, who gave me the best advice for my writing I was even given. You told me to keep writing about fishing and small town life,” Bailey said.

Also he thanked Richard Lemm, a professor in English. 

“You are the best friend my writing has had, I think.”